- Gaethje believes he is able to defeat Ferguson and take the interim belt.
- He believes that he has the mental power to restrain El Cucuy.
- Odds favoring Ferguson
Gaethje Embracing Ferguson’s Style of Fight
We are just two days away from UFC 249. Fans across the globe are excited to have a chance to witness some live-action, and it seems that the participants are in the same mood.
Justin Gaethje revealed his expectations from the upcoming match against Tony Ferguson. The “Highlight” as the fans call him is more than happy to take on such a fighter, and although he has enormous respect towards the older colleague, he is confident in his victory.
” I possess the power to turn his lights off and I believe I will. Tony Ferguson is a great competitor – 12 wins in a row – but I knock him out cold.”
Gaethje spoke about the fact that his rival has abnormal mental power, and that his mindset is something that gives him an edge over other fighters. “El Cucuy” is smashing his opponents in the octagon after dragging them into an open fight in which his strong chin and crazy mentality play a vital role.
Still, Gaethje isn’t afraid of that, and he wants to accept that style of fight. The 31-year old believes that he can match Ferguson’s craziness, and claims that he feels more than comfortable in this situation.
“He loves when people call him crazy, it turns him on. But he’s a certain kind of crazy that you have to step in the octagon and be comfortable. I believe I’m just as crazy as him in that regard,” Gaethje said.
He would joke that he wants to have his nose broken and gets surgery after the battle. Gaethje stated that he has problems with breathing for a long time, and that now, if Ferguson hits him right, his nose is going to be broken, and the UFC will have to pay for its reconstruction.
“Hopefully, one of those elbows cracks my nose – the UFC has to pay for that,” Highlight said.
Ferguson a Favorite
According to the bookmakers, the prospects of seeing Gaethje winning this one are not very good. Ferguson is a favorite, and his win sits at -175. On the other side, the moneyline for Gaethje is +150. So pretty much we can say that El Cucuy is a solid favorite here.
And how shouldn’t he be with 12 consecutive victories in a row? Since losing to Michael Johnson in May 2012, this guy sliced all of his opponents. The most recent two wins were against Anthony Pettis and Donald Cerrone, with Ferguson demolishing the two, inflicting them horrific injuries.
On the other side, Gaethje started his UFC career slowly, posting two losses to Eddie Alvares and Dustin Poirier, but bounced back after that and beat James Vick, Edson Barboza and Cerrone. All three wins were via KO in the first round.
All this promises a good fight this weekend.
